Beyond Belief: A Tenchi saga fanfic
by Mysterious Voice Guy
Summary: What happens when a mysterious figure from Rioko's past comes back to haunt her? The results may surprise you. High-level imagery and nightmare scenes give it it's PG-13 rating. No foul language or sexuality. In my opinion, a must-read for every Rioko fan


... "Their simplest weapons are endowed with more power to destroy than the mightiest of Gerrian warriors, and their armies number like dark clouds of the endless Abyss. A simple dagger in the hand of one of *these* demons surpasses Rioko and Rio-oki put together, a single sword wielded by just one of them has power to put Sunammi, the white falcon, to shame. Their most simplistic weapons can outdo your most extravagant powers. Believe me, you have no idea what you're dealing with. The 'demons' you've come across and faced so far are mere shadows of the true ones, in fact, they were nothing more than demonic scouts toying with you and seeking out the powers each of you have. Now that their 'examination' of each of you is complete, they will begin their true attack. And, I fear, nothing you throw at them is likely to win this fight."

  
  


From the author of Team Revelation, Cardcaptors: the Realm saga, and Cyber Scouts...,

A Tenchi saga fanfic,

  
  


**BEYOND BELIEF**

Primal Forces

  
  


Disclaimer: I don't own (sorry if not spelled correctly) Tenchi, Rioko, Rio-oki, Aieka, Washsu, Kieoina, Mehoshie Sasammi, or any of the other characters from any of the Tenchi serieses. I'll make a list of the characters I do own at the end of the fic.

  
  


Chapter1- Rioko's Nightmare

  
  


"I'm gonna turn in for the night." Rioko stated as she opened the door to her room. Aieka waved a painfully polite goodnight from down the hall and walked around a corner back towards the living room where the others were watching 'Star Trek 9: The Klingon Menace'. Rioko rolled her eyes. There were times she didn't mind Aieka's by-the-book behavior, but there were also times it bugged her. Too much of a reminder of her past, in fact Aieka might as well be the embodiment of most of the things Rioko couldn't stand. 'But,' She thought to herself, 'she's not all bad. Could be worse; she could be another one of the long listed names of people who want me dead for my past crimes.' She closed the door behind her and sighed before flicking on the lights. The past. No matter what Rioko tried, the one enemy she could never defeat was her past.

"Hey, don't stress yourself out, Rioko." She said to herself. "There's no use contemplating what you can't change. Live for the moment, that's my motto."

She pulled up the covers and blankets of her bed and slipped gracefully inside. Looking up at the ceiling, she thought over recent events in her mind's eye. It seemed like it had been forever since she, Tenchi, and the others' dynamic battle against that imposter on the planet of Gerri, and the most recently the threat to earth had been that little girl with the scarecrow hairdo who thought she could take earth for her own. Rioko sighed, realizing that, thanks to her, Tenchi, Aieka, Rio-oki, Washsu, Kieoina, Sasammi, and even Mehoshie, this world (and a few others, for that matter), had been rescued out of the clutches of certain death at least three times.

It was times like this Rioko felt simply unbeatable.

...But that thought instantly triggered other, much less pleasant thoughts. Thoughts of all those times she'd lost, all those times somebody even stronger than her had shown up and defeated her despite all her powers. 'But', she thought to herself. 'Things even out eventually, one way or the other, and I'm still left standing on the very top of it all.' She laughed lightly at that, but she knew, while with the help of her newfound friends she'd been able to show many of her enemies who's boss, there were still a few 'loose ends'. Like it or not, she wasn't entirely number one.

But, she decided not to even give that a second thought. 'Might start having *those* nightmares again.' She thought to herself, then rolled over and closed her eyes. She was looking forward to a nice, relaxing night of sleep before Tenchi came back from Tokyo tomorrow. Slowly, she felt herself drifting off . . . 

  
  


Suddenly, darkness and destruction surrounded Rioko's dream world, high walls of flames flickering in the far distance as her mind's eye took in this nightmarish scene. The ground below her feet was cracked and dusty, every ounce of moisture evaporated by some searing heat that had long since faded into the void. She looked past the wall of flames to see the dancing, wavering forms of a pair of moons, one a slight green tint, the other an icy steel color. The sky was flooded with waves of blood-red clouds that rolled and crashed with vicious tenacity over her head. Nearby, the shattered and broken hull of Rio-oki lay powerless and unmoving. A trickle of blood from a wound on Rioko's forehead suddenly rolled down into her left eye and she wiped it painfully out of her face onto her right-hand glove.

She knew this scene. She remembered this fight. She knew whom had done this to her and Rio-oki. As if driven by dream-induced instinct, she immediately turned in the direction from whence he would appear.

A shadowed form faded into view against the distant flames, a long cloak silhouetted along with the rest of his shadowed form. Suddenly, an intense-white energy sword blinked into being in his right hand, similar to Rioko's but different, ever so different. Unlike any energy sword she'd ever seen before, this one was full-form to classic double-edged swords, including a hand guard and impossible detail engraved upon the static-white surface. His hand gripped the energy like as if it were a normal wood handle and held the sword pointed squarely at Rioko.

"... You are defeated. Learn from the experience...," His thick, ancient accent reverberated in her mind. "... for we *will* meet again, Rioko."

"Who are you?" She cried out in desperation. "What are you?!"

"We will meet again, Rioko. Of that you can be certain."

"ANSWER ME!" She half-demanded, half-pleaded.

" . . . I am a voice. By that and that alone you shall know me, Rioko. We will meet again..."

"ANSWER ME ..!" She screamed, the last of her strength exhausted. But even as she spoke the words, the ominous silhouette with a secret name faded slowly away into obscurity. Rioko dropped to her knees and screamed with her face to the stars... "ANSWER ME!!!"

Her tortured scream reverberated across the nearby cosmos before fading into the void.

  
  


And instantly Rioko snapped awake. Sweat rolled down her forehead like rain and she suddenly felt like her face was on fire. She caught her breath, then threw aside the bed sheets and walked, trembling, to the bathroom. Her breathing was hard and forced as she struggled within herself to retain some kind of control, to keep her worst fears from causing her to break down right where she stood. Her mind was far too scattered for her to teleport; she could barely stand up she was shaking so badly. She went into the bathroom and immediately threw two handfuls of cold water from the sink onto her face.

Looking into the mirror, seeing for the first time the look of utter terror etched into her features, only one thought to describe what the heck was happening came into her head. And that thought's voice belonged to someone else.

..."... We *will* meet again ..."...

  
  


"Hey everybody!" Tenchi exclaimed as he came out from amongst the crowds at the airport terminal. Aieka, Sasammi, Kieoina, and Mehoshie rushed up immediately to him in enthusiastic overjoyment, nearby trampling Tenchi as they swarmed around him, each trying to talk over the others. Suddenly, Tenchi felt like something was missing. "Hey, where's Rioko?"

"Her?" Aieka thought it over for a moment. "I think she said she needed to stay at the house for some reason or another, but I can't quite remember what it was."

"I think she said something about 'preparations'." Kieoina wondered out loud.

"Preparations?" Tenchi wondered. "Preparations for what?"

  
  


_It's the little things that matter the most. The smallest details that lend themselves to discovering the truth. All you have to do is look closely. But, like so many others, they choose to ignore. I suppose that's why I'm here, to face that possibility once again._

"I promised we'd meet again, Rioko. And I always keep my word."

  
  


"Hey Rioko." Tenchi said as he unpacked his suitcases from the car. "How come I didn't see you at the airport?"

"Oh, uh, sorry Tenchi, I'm just a little busy, that's all."

"Busy? What with?"

"... maybe it's better if I don't tell you that."

Aieka locked a questioning gaze on Rioko. Something was up, she could feel it. Under any normal circumstance, Rioko would not only have been at the airport, but now that Tenchi was home she'd be trying to do something clever and sneaky to get Tenchi's romantic attentions. Neither had happened yet, so Aieka knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that something was up. She could think of only one method with which to get Rioko to unveil this 'secret' that was causing her to act so abnormally.

"Tenchi," She inquired, making sure Rioko would hear what she said. "Would you mind going with me for a walk in the woods later today, just the two of us?"

She'd made sure to stress the 'just the two of us' part so Rioko would hear. So far, no reaction out of Rioko.

"Uh,... I guess so." Tenchi said unsurely.

That, Aieka knew, should have gotten such a reaction out of Rioko that by now the two girls would be deadlocked in a tug-a-Tenchi-war. Rioko was acting like she hadn't even heard any of what had gone on, starring of into space with something burdening her mind.

Aieka made one last, desperate attempt.

"Aren't you going to say anything, Rioko?"

"Huh?" She inquired, reminding Aieka of a student caught daydreaming during a review.

"I asked Tenchi if he wouldn't mind going for a private walk in the woods with me later today. Aren't you going to say anything??"

"Have fun." Rioko said blandly, then started walking off towards the woods herself with a thought-laden expression on her face.

"What was that all about?" Tenchi inquired, not sure what to make of either Aieka's weird questioning or Rioko's reaction.

"She's up to something, I swear it." Aieka stated, then suddenly dashed off after Rioko. "And I intend to find out what."

"Hey Aieka!" Tenchi screamed after her, but she was already long gone. Tenchi sighed. "I thought she was going to help me with these suitcases..."

  
  


Aieka found Rioko wandering aimlessly about in the forests, the same far-away look on her eyes as had been since Tenchi got home.

"Rioko." She said, causing Rioko to turn around. "I don't know what you're up to, but whatever it is it must be big. You haven't been at all yourself lately."

"What do you mean?" She inquired, honestly sounding like she didn't know what Aieka meant.

"Don't play dumb with me. When I mentioned a private walk with Tenchi you just stood there like as if you're mind was stuck in a freeze frame. The Rioko I know would never permit Tenchi and I to be alone together for as long as she lived; now tell me what's going on here and tell me now."

"I've just got a lot on my mind, that's all." Rioko stated calmly. "It's no big deal, princess; believe me, we'll be back to 'the Tenchi wars' before you know it." Then she said under her breath. "If I live that long."

"What are you talking about??" Aieka demanded.

Rioko sighed, then turned back to face Aieka.

"Listen, I'd tell you if I could, but I can't. This is personal. Believe me, if you had a past like mine you might have an idea what I'm talking about."

"Well then, enlighten me, Rioko."

"Look, I told you that if I could tell you I would, but it's better if nobody gets involved in this but me." She looked away, then added. "I guess I just don't want anybody else dying because of me."

Aieka could tell by now that Rioko truly had no insidious plots, and that in fact she seemed to be showing very humane concern for others. For a minute, the idea of Rioko acting like this genuinely baffled Aieka, but then, in a gesture of friendship, she put her hand on Rioko's shoulder.

"Listen, whatever's going on, you don't need to keep it a secret from us. You and I may not always be the best of friends, Rioko, but like it or not fate has thrown us together here on this little planet. Whatever's burdening you, don't think you'll need to face it alone."

Rioko turned and looked at the sincerity in Aieka's eyes, then sighed and waved the princess to a nearby small boulder.

"You might wanna sit down for this, Aieka."

  
  


"It happened... about 700 earth-years ago, right after I'd ransacked a colony on Signus 9." Rioko began. "I'd made a clean escape from the galaxy police and to celebrate my good fortune I planned to spend a little time at the gambling tables on the planet Ceriox. Turns out I never made it there...

Ceriox was at least a good two days journey from Signus 9, so I'd decided to call it a day after such a successful heist. But at the moment that I was about to call it a night, Rio-oki's sensors picked up a huge energy signature headed straight for us. I scanned the thing more thoroughly and discovered it was a small object about the size of a person and that it had a humanoid life sign. Now, as you can guess, this caught me by surprise, but before I had the chance to think about it the guy was already within firing range. He took the first shot at me, which turned out to be a get-my-attention warning shot, and I naturally returned fire with skillful accuracy. I thought 'one guy, a lot of energy, so what? How big of a danger could he be?'

Suffice to say, I had no idea what I was up against.

One of the first things to surprise me about him was that he didn't need a ship for space travel. So, assuming he probably wouldn't stand a chance against an all-out blast from Rio-oki, I charged up and let him have it. Here's the part where my jaw dropped in disbelief; he caught the beam in his right hand and sent it back at me like somebody playing a game of catch. The blast hit, and immediately I realized this guy, whoever he was, was way tougher than he looked. My sensors picked up a nearby gas planet and I set a course there, hoping to gain the upper hand in the concealing clouds of the planet's atmosphere. And what's weird is that he just followed us there, not firing or anything.

We got into the gas clouds and one of the first things my sensors picked up was that the planet's atmosphere had high levels of flammable elements. So, as soon as the guy followed us into the atmosphere, I put Rio-oki's shields to full and aimed for a pocket of high-concentrated atmosphere. The whole planet lit up in minutes, and when it all burned out I could've sworn the guy I was fighting was atomized. But I'd underestimated him yet again. Don't ask me how he did it, but he somehow protected himself during the entire inferno, not even leaving a single singe mark on him anywhere. I had no idea what to make of it. For almost a full three minutes the planet's surface had been surrounded in flames as hot as a small star, and this guy wasn't even effected.

My next move was a desperate one. With the flames exhausted, I teleported outside of Rio-oki and activated my sword. I figured he had some sort of intense shielding ability or something, and that he wouldn't be able to use it to defend himself as well against two opponents. He, in turn, activated a white-energy sword the likes of which I'll never forget, and in seconds the battle had gone full-force. Rio-oki and I blasted at him with everything we had, but this guy was swift as well as well-defended. In short, despite all my powers and hard training, we didn't score a single hit on him. Then the sword fight started. Didn't last too long, though; in about five seconds he'd scored a clean hit that went halfway down my leg and carved out a slice of the side of my chest, too. Rio-oki came to my aid, spinning like a top so it could really do some damage to this guy, but not only did he dodge that but then he teleported inside Rio-oki and cut a big chunk of the hull away from inside. Needless to say, we were finished.

I suddenly lost consciousness and gravity took over. I woke up to a scene that I'll never forget. Rio-oki was crushed, I was lucky to be alive; it was like I'd woken up in the middle of an apocalypse. Then he came onto the scene and told me that I'd lost and to learn from the experience, then he left. I had nightmares about it for exactly ten days afterwards, and after that I never had them again.

As it turns out, I was able to recover long enough to repair Rio-oki and head for the nearest place I could think of to get repairs and medical stuff done. I checked everywhere I could think of for info on the guy, but I found zilch. No criminal or civilian or anything record, no reputation, in fact, nobody had ever heard of a white-cloaked powerhouse like the guy I described. And you'd think with those kind of powers he'd be famous for something, right? Nope. So, with nowhere left to turn in hope of answers and a galaxy of plunder out there, I did what any galaxy-famous space pirate would do: I forgot about it and went on with my criminal life. Oh, and in case you're wondering about my stolen cargo, it took every cent of what I sold it for to pay for the damage... and *then some*!"

  
  


"No wonder you're sore." Aieka laughed. "You lost money because of him."

Rioko locked an angry glare on her.

"OK, OK, I was just joking!" Aieka exclaimed. "But... why would you think he was coming back now?"

"Remember how I said that I only had nightmares for ten days afterwards?" Rioko stated. Aieka nodded, and Rioko continued. "... Last night, the nightmares returned. I tell you, Aieka, he's coming back, and who knows what damage he'll do this time!"

"We must tell the others!" Aieka surmised, standing up. "If you're certain that this madman will be coming here in search of you, then we must make preparations."

"What do you think I was doing while you were all at the airport?" Rioko exclaimed, then put on a very matter-of-factly voice. "This property is now ringed with automated defense weapons, compliments of Washsu."

"What?!" Aieka exclaimed. "Does Washsu know about this?"

"Well, um, when you put it that way... no."

"You STOLE?!-From your own MOTHER?!"

"I was desperate! What did you expect me to do???" Rioko exclaimed back.

Aieka sighed.

"Same old Rioko..."

  
  


_Space..._

_... such a cold place, but even here I can feel my power coursing through me. But even this power alone has no power in and of it's own. And there are times I almost regret having such powers in order to fulfill my purpose. I can recall all too well my confrontation with Rioko, how I was forced to teach her a lesson in humility that she still has yet to learn. I regret times when I must either pass judgement or cause destruction on that which was created for a good purpose._

_But now I realize I must do what I must do. I have a purpose to fulfill on the homeworld of the cosmos, a matter that will open a whole new world to Rioko and her friends..._

  
  


Chapter2- The Primal Forces

  
  


"You, you really think this guy is as strong as you say he is??" Mehoshie managed to quake out.

Rioko nodded. It was now nightfall in Japan, and Rioko, Aieka, Tenchi, Mehoshie, Kieoina, and Sasammi were gathered around the living room table. Rioko had called an emergency meeting to share her story with the whole group and work out a defense strategy in the likely event that the dangerous white-cloaked warrior really did 'come back'.

"Probably more-so." Rioko stated, eyes closed and arms folded.

"No offense, but I've had enough of this whole super-heroes Vs. super-villains scene." Tenchi said. "Can't we just try to negotiate with this guy or something?"

"I've never heard of anybody who remotely fits his description and powers." Kieoina stated. "At least, the Galaxy Police must never have heard about him or I would have been sure to know about somebody with such fighting ability."

"Believe me," Rioko started. "As far as I can tell, I'm the only person alive ever to have an encounter with this guy. There's no info on him anywhere except in here." She pointed to her head.

"From what I've been able to compile so far..." Washsu said, typing away at a transparent black high-tech keyboard. She then looked up straight at Rioko. " . . . you either owe me about 679000 Gerri or six years of manual labor for the weapons you appropriated from my lab, Rioko."

"Would you forget about that for a minute!" Rioko exclaimed. "If we don't find a way to stop this guy it's game over for everybody!"

"That's no way to talk to your mom, Rioko." Washsu chastised, waggling a finger. "But... I suppose we can forget about this little debt for the time being, since you were obviously desperate."

"Thank goodness." Rioko breathed out, sitting back down.

"So what are we going to do?" Sasammi inquired, Rio-oki perched on her shoulder.

"We have one option." Rioko stated. "Throw absolutely everything at him we can muster."

"Everything??" Washsu inquired with a twinkle of a dangerous thought in her eye.

Rioko gave her a questioning look.

"You may have gotten most of my automated weapons systems, Rioko, but I still have a few tricks up my sleeve that might come in handy. Follow me to the lab and I'll show you what I have available for use presently."

  
  


He'd come into the solar system's outer limits a day ago, instantly triggering Rioko's dreams. Now, standing on the icy surface of the planet Pluto, he looked out into space with vision beyond that of any humanoid being in the universe. A normal human being standing on this spot would be able to see the planets Uranus and Neptune as small little orbs barely but crisply visible, but with his powers he could clearly make out the present location of each planet in the solar system. His gaze was focused on earth, though.

_I did promise we'd meet again, Rioko. I bet you never thought we'd be on the same side, though..._

_... but I suppose we aren't truly on the same side quite yet, Rioko. You still have a great foe seeking your life like a roaring lion, seeking whom it may devour. But they can not harm you until the appointed time. And after that... for a time... I will keep them at bay._

__He sighed deeply.

_...But in the end, you alone must choose between the blessing and the curse. The decision is indeed yours, Rioko, but first you must learn humility._

He nodded, looked earthward, then with hot-white energy surrounding him he shot off like a comet towards earth, his concealing cloak billowing behind him.

  
  


The next nine days passed very slowly for Rioko. Each day she and the others were either busy mounting and hiding weapons, planning out strategies and formulating backup plans, or running mock combat drills to help sharpen their skills. Asaka and Kamadakae even volunteered to help the others train, acting as living, moving, dodging, loyal punching bags during training drills. Tenchi's grandfather also joined in the training, teaching Tenchi and Rioko advanced sword techniques handed down from ancient Gerri warriors.

Each day was filled with activity. Each night plagued with nightmares.

Not a single night of the nine went by where Rioko didn't have the nightmares. Always it was the same, and always it scared her senseless when she awoke. But the nightmares proved only to make her more determined during the day. She trained long and hard, her fighting skills growing with each new hour of each new day. But even during training the nightmares of her greatest hour of weakness haunted her still...

... darkness and destruction...

... a trickle of blood...

... dream-induced instinct...

... a shadowed form...

... an intense white-energy sword...

... "Who are you?!"...

... "You are defeated..."...

... "ANSWER ME!"...

... "ANSWER ME!!!"...

But Rioko was determined. Never before had she encountered a stronger foe, and she vowed that she wouldn't stop trying until her nightmare was brought to it's knees. Each morning she got up earlier and went to bed later so she could pack in a few extra hours of training.

At last, it was the end of the tenth day.

  
  


"If my premonitions are right, he'll be here tomorrow." She said to Aieka as the two stood on the rooftop watching the sun go down. It had been a long, hard day of near-endless training, and at last everything was drawing to a conclusion. Soon, dinner would be ready and then everybody would turn in for the night. "I hope I trained hard enough."

"Rioko, don't be a fool." Aieka chastised. "I saw you out there and you practically put Asaka and Kamadakae to shame with the skill you were showing. You've barely slept at all and you've packed every spare hour with rigorous training. You are, by far, stronger than you've ever been, and to be honest, although I never thought I'd hear myself saying this, I'm... impressed to see how much you've changed lately."

"What do you mean, besides the training."

"Oh, I think it has a great deal to do with the training." Aieka stated. "You've become more determined than ever, you've been denying yourself sleep so you could reach for a goal, you've become a hard worker, and what's more is that you're getting leader characteristics. Rioko, if I didn't know better, I'd say this whole circumstance is bringing out the best in you."

"Well, yeah, thanks for the moral support, Aieka. I just hope it'll all be enough when it comes down to it tomorrow."

"One way or another, remember you're facing this as a stronger person, Rioko." Aieka said with a hint of friendship in her voice.

  
  


That night, Rioko almost hadn't dared go to sleep at all, fearing the return of the nightmare. But, like it or not, she needed to get some kind of rest before tomorrow's fight, so reluctantly she pulled up the covers and closed her eyes. 

A nightmare did indeed come just as she feared, but nothing like the one she'd anticipated...

  
  


The dreamworld around her was dark and foreboding. She looked around in surprise; this wasn't at all what she'd expected. Gone were the far-off walls of flames, gone was the thick red canopy of clouds, gone was even the planet on which she had stood. She felt herself floating weightless in mid-air as she spun around, startled by the dreamworld around her.

Suddenly, somewhere far off, she heard a sound she could only associate as a death scream. Suddenly, before her appeared two fierce warriors deadlocked in life-or-death combat. She gasped in surprise. One was a freakish humanoid creature with horse-like skin and steel-colored metallic armor, the armor having sharp, fishhook-like sword blades jutting out of the shoulders. It's pupil-less eyes were the color of smooth purple alabaster, it's armor contouring to the shape of it's grotesque other-worldly body. A metallic cyborg implant was where the being's mouth and nose should be, it's oily black hair flowed down the creatures neck like the mane of a wild stallion, and attached to it's forearms were a pair of fearsome, long, sharp fishhook-shaped sword blades like the ones on it's shoulders. It slashed the deadly weapons around as it deadlocked in battle with it's opponent...

... the white-clad warrior from Rioko's nightmares.

Energy-swords and wrist blades met in swift and decisive clashes, the two skilled fighters moving at impossible speeds. Suddenly, the armor-clad creature back-flipped away from the fight and landed behind Rioko. Rioko, more out of fear than instinct, activated her own sword and spun to face the creature. She looked over her shoulder to see the cloaked warrior with a white sword standing there, sword limp at his side. Rioko turned back to look at her freakish opponent as the creatures piercing eyes probbed her in a way she couldn't describe.

"Hello Rioko. Did you miss me?" The creature said, the words somehow formed by the implant that took the place of it's mouth.

"How-how do you know my name?" She exclaimed. "What are you? What do you have to do with me?"

The creature laughed.

"Haven't you figured it out, Rioko?" The monster scoffed. "I know your thoughts,... I control your choices,... I know you inside and out." Suddenly, like fog shifting, the creature's face began to shift behind it's implant, the facial features shifting, growing lighter in color and rearranging themselves. "... I am your past, Rioko. Therefore..." Suddenly, the face snapped into a set of finite features. Rioko gasped. The face behind the implant was now her own. "I am you,... Rioko."

"NOOO!" She screamed in fearful rage, slashing her sword cleanly at the creature that had assumed her identity. The energy blade passed straight through the being like as if through a hologram projected onto fog. She took several fearful steps back, but it didn't seem like she was getting any farther from the creature. Suddenly, in desperation, she turned and looked towards the white-cloaked warrior. "Please, help me!"

The figure hung his head.

"I cannot. Not unless-..."

The end of the statement was swallowed up as suddenly the creature with her face expertly aimed one wrist-blade and sliced open Rioko's stomach. She fell to the ground and immediately grasped the wound in pain, then drew her hand away to find it covered in blood. She looked up as the face of evil was suddenly no longer her own, but returned to it's fearful inhuman form, and pulled her arm to block as the unearthly being brought one of it's blades down at her in a finishing blow.

"NOOooo!" She screamed in fear-

  
  


- and at that exact instant Rioko snapped awake with a gasp, jolting up in bed instinctively as the dark room around her pushed out the nightmarish dream of which she'd just been in. She was breathing hard and nearly hyperventilating as her mind slowly cleared of the fearfully real images she'd just seen. Suddenly, she felt something sticky and pulled aside the sheets to find out what it was.

She instantly held her breath as her heart skipped a beat.

Her hand was covered with blood.

  
  


" I'm telling you, I woke up and my hand was covered in blood." Rioko stated. She'd gathered the others together for a midnight meeting. "I checked myself over and I don't have a single cut or bruise or wound anywhere that could have caused it."

"This is getting way too scary!" Mehoshie said, clinging to Kieoina in fear. "It's just like in that movie!"

"What movie?" Aieka inquired.

"Space Cops 7, the Final Gun." Mehoshie stated, freaked out at the thought.

"This is no movie." Rioko stated as calmly as she could. "I won't claim to understand it, but if it's some kind of a trick to scare the fight out of us, it's not gonna work."

"This is indeed very strange." Tenchi's grandfather stated, eyes closed and arms folded. "Never in all my years has such a paranormal display come to my attention."

"This isn't 'Ghostbusters'." Washsu said confidently. "I'm sure there's a completely rational, scientific explanation for all of this, like a sudden shift in the phase-variance of Rioko's dream world that caused dream images to take on physical substance. It's never been proven by the textbooks, but I honestly believe such a thing could be possible with the addition of certain isometric energy waves."

"You can textbook it out all night if you want," Rioko stated. "But what I wanna know is this: who, or what, the heck was that creature that attacked me."

"There may be a way to find out." Washsu suddenly held two long wires with suction pads on the ends. She walked over and promptly suctioned them onto the sides of Rioko's head. "Using these polaron detectors to make sense of your brain waves, I should be able to scan your subconscious memory with enough accuracy to locate information on your most recent dreams and then, by transmitting the information into the central computers in my lab, I should be able to create a holographic image of whatever creature it was that attacked you."

"Say that in English?" Rioko requested.

"Be patient and I'll show you how it works." Washsu took her seat again and began typing in commands on her cyberspace keyboard. Suddenly, with the press of a button, a holographic image flashed into existence nearby.

Rioko half-gasped and took an uneasy step back.

Mehoshie freaked out and fell backwards at the sight of the hologram.

Both Tenchi, Aieka, and Kieoina cringed a little.

"... Is that the creature?" Washsu inquired, trying to hide just how much the being freaked her out, too.

"That's it alright." Rioko stated. "Weapons and everything."

Washsu tore herself from the scary hologram and keyed in a few commands on her transparent keyboard. The screen flashed with results and Washsu looked up from the screen to face the others.

"It's not any known species in the universe." Washsu stated. "Rioko, any idea how you got this creature in your dreams?"

"I've never seen it before either." Rioko said. "I've never come across anything like it; there's outside forces involved here for sure."

"But who?" Tenchi exclaimed. "The guy we've been training to face off with?"

"Hmm... could be. There's no telling what he's capable of." Rioko said thoughtfully. "OK, let's not let this get to us; you can all go back to bed now."

Everybody filed silently back to their rooms for the night, leaving Rioko and Tenchi's grandpa alone in the room.

"Rioko, use caution." He warned. "The other forces involved in this may be more that we suspect."

  
  


The rising sun slowly pierced the horizon over Tokyo, flooding the world with gentle light. High atop a nearby hill range, a white-cloaked figure stood, watching the beautiful display.

_Nature speaks of the truth of love, but only to those who love truth. It's good to be back on this planet of eternal destiny, this world where everything began so long ago. It's a shame that I come back home only to face a battle against someone neither I nor Jeshua have any desire to fight against, to finish a lesson from well over seven-hundred years ago. But Jeshua's plan must be fulfilled, and for that purpose I exist and that purpose alone._

_I will face you one more, Rioko. Hopefully this shall be the last time you consider me your enemy._

  
  
  
  


Rioko yawned and stretched, then pulled off the covers and stood up. Looking out the window, she could see that the sun was halfway over the horizon. She teleported out into the bathroom, went about her morning routine, and then teleported downstairs to grab some breakfast. Pulling open the fridge, she rummaged around for a few minutes...

"Hmm,... eggs, carrots, rice, fish, carrots, milk, orange juice, carrots, carrots, cream cheese, carrots,... hey, this carrot has a bite out of it." She stuck her head out from behind the fridge door to see Rio-oki bound up. "Have you been sneaking carrots in-between meals again?"

Rio-oki shook it's head. Rioko gave the little bunny-like creature a 'C'mon, tell me the truth' look. Rio-oki, sensing it was outmatched, quickly turned tail and bounded off into the house. Rioko rolled her eyes.

After gathering together enough random food to make a nicely sized omelette, Rioko began cracking eggs and pouring milk. After about fifteen minutes she sat down to a cheesy omelette filled with rice, carrots, a little fish, a few strips of chicken, and a little hot sauce for good measure. Rioko wolfed it down with a smile.

She figured the others were going to be up soon, so she figured she'd better set the example and be out there on the alert when they woke up. She reminded herself that, sometime today, that powerhouse fighter in the white cloak was likely to show up and challenge her again. She smiled slyly. Not even he stood a chance against what Washsu had whipped up a few nights before.

She stepped outside and headed towards the lake, but suddenly a voice from behind her stopped her dead in her tracks.

"I promised we'd meet again, Rioko."

Slowly, half-shaking, she turned to see the voices origin. Just as she had feared, he was already here. He stood high on the very top of the house, his face hidden beneath the shadow of his cloak's hood and the gentle morning winds causing his cloak to flap about ever so slightly.

"You!" She exclaimed. "How dare you come here, just to make a fool of me again." She suddenly got far bolder. "But not this time; this time I'm ready for you."

"I'm here to teach you a lesson in humility, Rioko." He stated very calmly.

"Yeah, well, teach this! Asaka! Kamadakae! Sound the alarm; he's here!" She shouted.

"Aye-aye!" The two high-tech logs complied, appearing out of nowhere. Then, like as if someone had given each a megaphone, the two guardians shouted "RED ALERT! RED ALERT! THIS IS NOT A DRILL; RED ALERT!"

"You've been preparing." The warrior noted.

"You haven't seen anything yet." Rioko smirked as Tenchi and all the others came rushing out of the house, battle-ready. They immediately looked where Rioko was gazing and spotted the white-cloaked mysterious warrior. "Alright everybody, this is it. Let's get him!"

"This really isn't nessasary." He returned as Mehoshie and Kieoina locked a pair of bazooka-sized shoulder weapons on him.

"You have the right to remain silent." Kieoina instructed. "Anything you say can be used against you in a galactic court of law."

"And... um... if you move, we'll shoot!" Mehoshie added.

"Aw, forget that!" Washsu exclaimed. "Just keep him busy until I can activate the defense systems!" She shouted, rushing back inside.

"Rio-oki! Let's do it!" Rioko instructed. Rio-oki nodded, then leapt into action, transforming into it's spaceship form. Rioko flashed out of sight, then reappeared inside. "OK, everybody, you know what to do!"

  
  


Chapter 3- Encounter

  
  


Washsu rushed into her lab, the door phasing out of existence behind her. She pulled herself into a sitting position on a floating cushion, then began keying in commands on her cyberspace keyboard furiously.

"I think this'll teach that bad man not to hurt my Rioko." She smirked as she brought up a targeting system. "Arm the intromolecular force disruptor!"

  
  


Kieoina and Mehoshie opened fire, blasting off huge, thick green laser beams at their target. Just as the beams were about to hit, he suddenly blinked out of existence, sending the beams sailing safely over the house and exploding against a far-off mountain. Mehoshie looked around nervously, trying to figure out where he'd gone, but suddenly with a flash of white energy an energy sword cleanly sliced the bazooka-sized laser cannons in half. The front halves fell to the ground with a metallic clang as both Mehoshie and Kieoina saw the white-cloaked warrior appear nearby, white-energy sword ready in his hands.

"What happened to 'innocent until proven guilty'?" He inquired. "I've done nothing against the law, ladies."

Kieoina instantly dropped the remaining half of the cannon and pulled out her hand laser.

"How about resisting arrest? Make one move and I'll blast you."

He held out one hand as if to reflect the blast with bare hands.

"If you shoot me with that, I'll reflect it straight back into the gun, causing the muzzle to explode and sending you flying backwards."

"Yeah, sure. This hand gun is proven to be able to penetrate any refractor shield ever invented."

"I tried to warn you."

Without warning, Tenchi came up behind the warrior, sword ready in his hands. He brought the weapon down in a wide arc, but in the blink of an eye he realized the warrior had seen him coming and had Tenchi blocked sword for sword. Kieoina took advantage of the situation, taking careful aim and firing, but the warrior was keenly aware of what was going on. Just nanoseconds before the slim beam hit he put his free hand in the way and, just as he'd warned, the beam reflected back at a perfect 90 degree angle right back into Kieoina's gun, causing the muzzle to explode and send her flying backwards.

"Kieoina! Are you OK?" Mehoshie exclaimed, rushing up to her and helping her to her feet as Tenchi and the warrior exchanged swift sword strikes like a pair of Jedi.

"I've been better." She groaned. "I hoped he was bluffing; so much for that."

"I have no reason to fight you, Tenchi." The warrior stated, blocking a skillful strike and then a follow-up kick from Tenchi. "I see your skills have improved, though."

  
  


"OK, Rio-oki," Rioko stated. "I'm going down there to help Tenchi. You get in position and I'll join up with you later."

Rio-oki meowed in protest, but Rioko cut her off.

"Tenchi and I are just going to lure him into range; don't worry, we'll be fine. You just worry about getting to your position, I'll handle the rest."

  
  


Rioko suddenly appeared out of nowhere, bringing her sword downwards towards the white-cloaked figure in a sudden-death blow. The warrior, as if sensing her behind himself, spun to parry the attack, then spun once more to block Tenchi's next strike.

"Now I've got you!" Rioko challenged, she and Tenchi taking swipes and jabs at him as he blocked both opponent's attacks with incredible accuracy and near-impossible speed. "This time you're outnumbered *and* outgunned!"

"Not entirely true." He stated, swinging his sword in a wide arc to block a pair of simultaneous blows from both Rioko and Tenchi. He took advantage of the moment, reversing the direction of his counterstrike and swinging hard. The swing shattered Rioko's sword like glass, catching Rioko off guard and nearly making her trip, and hitting Tenchi's sword so hard that it flew clean out of his hands. Tenchi and Rioko blinked unbelievingly. "Lesson number one, Rioko: never underestimate your opponent."

"I couldn't agree more." Aieka said, appearing nearby in front of the doorway to the house. "Now it's time to teach you a lesson, you madman."

"Princess Aieka, I have absolutely no quarrel with you. I came here to fight Rioko and Rioko alone."

"Well, looks like you're getting more than you bargained for." Aieka challenged, her body suddenly surrounded in an energy field. Without warning, a wide-spread-out cloud of small, palm sized wooden cylinders faded into view around him. "A force field should slow you down."

"You are also underestimating me, Aieka." He replied, then jabbed his sword into the invisible energy barrier, shattering it like a glass bubble. Aieka gasped, but quickly got ready to fight as the wooden 'pods' vanished into oblivion.

"So I have. But there is no power in the galaxy stronger than that of the Gerri royal family." She stated matter-of-factly as a sudden new surge of energy leapt around her almost like fire. She got into a fighting stance. "Now prepare to meet your match!"

"Princess, be rational." He advised, but Aieka instantly shot through the air at him like a bullet, huge waves of energy surrounding her body. Using his free hand, the warrior held out an open palm squarely at Aieka, and suddenly it was almost like as if both gravity and all ability for forward movement was stolen right out from under Aieka. She flailed around in mid-air, energy still surrounding her body, but she couldn't move. "I have absolutely no intention of hurting anyone but Rioko. Please realize the folly of this approach."

"I'll give you a hurting!" Rioko exclaimed, rushing at the warrior with her sword in her hands once more.

  
  


Meanwhile, Sasammi rushed through the woods, headed for the ancient Gerrian tree in the midst of that wide, sparkling pond. She knew that, with it's help, maybe she could become Sunammi and help the others defeat this fearful warrior.

"I can't slow down!" She reprimanded herself. "The others are counting on me!"

  
  


Swords met over and over again as now Rioko and Tenchi were back in action, fighting against their mysterious foe with everything they had. Aieka, however, wasn't so quick to recover, left struggling as she floated in mid-air. Mehoshie, being the only one left with a gun, was doing her best to shoot down the intruder, but each shot she fired was quickly refracted by that super speed blur of white energy he used as a sword.

'Nothing's affecting him!' Rioko thought to herself, then smirked. 'But we'll see how invulnerable he really is soon enough.'

"Fall back to position one!" She instructed, grabbing Tenchi's upper arm with her free hand and teleporting out of sight. The warrior lowered his sword to his side as Mehoshie and Kieoina dashed off towards the woods. Asaka and Kamadakae suddenly appeared out of nowhere and pulled up alongside the two uniformed girls, and both officers immediately hopped aboard the two guardians like surfers on their boards. They vanished out of sight in mere seconds.

The warrior was still for a moment, observing the spot they were headed to out on the horizon.

"Rioko has been preparing very well indeed." He observed. "She is indeed stronger now than ever, but she lacks one thing. I suppose it wouldn't be prudent of me to keep her waiting, though."

With that, he suddenly became a living blur as hot-white energy surrounded his body and he dashed off after Kieoina and Mehoshie.

  
  


"Target at six hundred kilometers and closing." Washsu's computer stated calmly.

"Good, they're finally getting him into position." Washsu nodded in approval. "Just a few dozen more kilometers and it's molecularizing time!"

  
  


He looked carefully about as he stepped into the clearing. Rioko and the others were all in hiding nearby; he could sense where. He waited, though.

"Lesson number two, Rioko: not by power and not by might." He said in a calm voice.

For several moments more, he waited.

Then, in a sudden sound like a two-second earthquake, hundreds of hovering laser cannons shot into view all around him. The sky was practically filled with the weightlessly floating automated weapons, and with one mind all of them locked their sights on the white-cloaked warrior.

"This really isn't nessasary." He stated, a second or so before the weapons opened fire.

  
  


"Now, Rio-oki!" Rioko instructed. Rio-oki meowed in agreement as the ship shot skyward. The view screen flickered to life, revealing the scene of the firing laser droids that literally enbubbled the clearing in the woods. Rioko raised one eyebrow. "I wonder why he hasn't done anything yet...; no matter, thought. Rio-oki, open fire!"

Rio-oki meowed again as it charged up and let loose a blast of energy at the clearing, the droids floating quickly out of the way of the blast. Combined with the beams from the drones, the energy blast caused a huge explosion in the clearing that billowed into a mushroom cloud as big as the clearing itself.

"Did... did you get him?" Tenchi inquired over her shoulder.

"Probably not." Rioko stated. "But don't worry; we've just been wearing him out up till now. Once Washsu gets a targeting lock on him-"

Her thought was interrupted as suddenly Rio-oki howled in fear and the command room all around her suddenly began to phase into energy.

  
  


Outside the ship, the white-cloaked mysterious figure watched as white energy from his hand spread throughout Rio-oki's hull like a shockwave. He retracted his hand from touching the outer hull as Rio-oki slowly began to go back into it's original form.

Rioko teleported into view nearby.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY SHIP?!" She demanded.

"It's a young life, so I will not harm it just to get at you, Rioko." He replied. "Out of curiosity, isn't Tenchi still inside?"

Her eyes went wide for a moment at the truth of that, and she vanished once again in a phasing of energy. After about three seconds of Rio-oki continuing to shrink, she reappeared with her sword in her hand.

"Well, with that taken care of..." Rioko aimed a glare at the warrior. "Mind telling me WHAT YOU DID TO MY SHIP?!!"

"A forced transformation. Rio-oki will not be hurt." He stated.

  
  


"But you will..." Washsu smirked. On the screen, a pair of white targeters circled swiftly about a bird's-eye view of the white-cloaked warrior. "Locked on target! And... FIRE!"

  
  


At Washsu's word, a giant, ovular laser cannon faded into view high above the clearing. It turned, aimed squarely at the warrior, and it's muzzle began to glow with a sudden surge of awesome energy.

"Bye now!" Rioko waved coyly and vanished, a split-second before the cannon fired.

A continuous stream of lightning-like energy shot out of the cannon and struck the mysterious warrior squarely with a massive explosion of electricity spreading out in every direction. The power of the beam lit up the entire sky as for a moment in time everything for miles was draped in an intense white light like as if a supernova had gone off.

  
  


"He doesn't stand a chance." Washsu stated calmly, talking to no one in particular. "A single full-power blast from my intromolecular force disruptor can break the energy bonds within a molecule in seconds, causing anything it's pointed at to fall apart at the atomic level. This is bound to work, since it'll even destroy the energy charge of the most powerful force fields. He should be falling apart right about... now."

  
  


Tenchi, Aieka, Rioko, Kieoina, and Mehoshie shielded their eyes as the beam suddenly increased in intensity, then died out all together. For a moment, the world all around them was very blurry, but as everyone's eyes dialed into focus the outcome became clear.

"I... I don't believe it..." Rioko said, stunned.

"...You think it's possible...?" Tenchi exclaimed.

"... No way...!" Mehoshie added in disbelief.

  
  


Washsu looked at her instruments calmly. She sat back, feeling quite sure of her success.

Suddenly, the screen bleeped. She sat up immediately to look over the data pouring in.

Her jaw dropped.

"No way; this simply isn't possible!" She exclaimed, not believing what she was seeing.

  
  


As the dust cleared, the scene in the sky declared to one and all the outcome of the battle.

The warrior wasn't even scratched.

  
  


Washsu went into a frenzy, checking her calculations and rushing about the lab searching for some kind of answer.

"This isn't scientifically possible! Everything that has physical qualities is made up of atoms and molecules; what is he, some kind of ghost?! This isn't scientifically possible! AHHH! Pythagarous, why hast thou forsaken me?!"

  
  


A single swipe of the white-energy sword utterly destroyed the massive energy cannon, it's insides exploding in a huge flash of energy. The little laser droids took to action again, filling the skies with green energy beams, but in a split second the droids also met their end as an army of lightning bolts from the sky struck down each hover-droid. In less than three minutes, the warrior had completely cleared the skies of every mechanical energy weapon in sight.

Meanwhile on the ground, Rioko starred in disbelief, her mouth agape in total and complete unbelief that the fearful fighter was THAT invulnerable. The others all looked up with similar expressions of shock.

"Lesson number three, Rioko:" He shouted down from above. "No weapon formed against me shall prosper."

"I----- I----- I don't believe it!" Tenchi exclaimed. "Nothing hurts this guy!"

_Not entirely true, Tenchi._ He thought to himself. _But that is another lesson._

  
  


"OK, Rioko." Washsu said, suddenly appearing nearby. "We've got one option and one option only left. Anybody know where Sasammi is?"

"You can't be serious!" Tenchi exclaimed. "Not even Sunammi stands a chance against whoever he is! He fights like some kind of... of... god!"

"Tenchi, be logical." Washsu retorted. "He's obviously a living being and all living beings have mortal weaknesses. If he was a quote-on-quote 'god', then we wouldn't have been able to fight him for this long, now would we?"

"How the heck am I supposed to know?!" Tenchi exclaimed. "All I know is that not even your atomizer-thingy even so much as scratched him. What am I supposed to think he is?!!"

"Tenchi, we have one option if we want to at least go down fighting." Washsu said. "Sunammi is our last resort."

"But if he forced Rio-oki out of ship mode, can't he just do the same to Sunammi?" Tenchi inquired.

"You're asking me?" Washsu returned. 

  
  


At that instant, a flash of energy lit up the sky. A sudden forcewind so strong it sent trees toppling over erupted from where the flash had originated, blowing Tenchi, Rioko, Rio-oki, Kieoina, Washsu, and Mehoshie all off their feet instantly. When the light faded, a massive form dominated the skies, blocking out the sun completely. It's ten wings glowed with incredible power, it's hull glistened with the feel of living metal, power coursed through it's conduits like as if through a living being.

Sunammi had arrived.

_So, this is the legendary Sunammi._ The warrior thought as the ship towered above him. _Powerful it is. Indeed, it is a strong fighting ship, by physical-realm standards. It must not be harmed; it too has a future destiny to fulfill._

With a flash of light, he vanished from sight, rematerializing inside of Sunammi itself. The interior of the ship was like stepping into a strange dream world, it's focal point a large, ancient tree that served as the ship's power. Water cascaded in circular ponds all around and transferred from one to another via small, ornately designed waterfalls. Standing in front of the tree was Sunammi in it's human form, and Sunammi's reflection was that of Sasammi.

"You are Sunammi." The warrior stated calmly.

"And you are the one who seeks Rioko's life." Sunammi returned.

"No, I do not seek her life." He stated in response. "I am sent here that she may fulfill her destiny."

"You help her to fulfill her purpose by fighting against her? I do not believe you." Sunammi said in response.

"Whether you believe me or not is not my concern, for truth remains the same whether the report of it is believed or not. I, Sunammi, am a child of destiny; I will not allow myself to lie."

"What, then, is your immediate purpose in fighting Rioko and the others? Why must such a thing be deemed nessasary?"

"The immediate purpose is to teach Rioko humility. By humbling herself, she can reach her destiny and become strong. It is nessasary because it has been written that it will be so."

"Written? Written where?"

"... Upon the book of eternal destiny, which was written by the Eternal One. It cannot be altered; the outcome is set. I must fight this fight, and Rioko must admit to defeat. I will not kill her or anyone else."

"I do not understand. Where do you get the authority to dictate such things?"

"It is not I who have the authority, but the Eternal One, who's names are Jeshua, Yahway, Hosanna, Jehovah, Immanuel, Lord, King Eternal, and greatest of all the names is the name of Jesus. This is the identity of the one whom I serve. He is the Forever God."

For a moment, Sunammi was simply blown away by that statement.

"... But I cannot allow you to harm them." Sunammi returned, almost quivering. "I will fight to the death if I have to."

"I will not fight you, Sunammi. Your destiny likewise is ordained, and I will not dare transgress that which the Lord has ordained to be so." He paused, then continued. "Sunammi, withdraw to your hiding place. I will not harm Rioko any further if you will do as I request."

Sunammi paused for a long moment,... then nodded slowly and began to fade from existence. The surrounding darkness, the ancient Gerrian tree, the waterfalls and circular ponds, all faded likewise away, leaving the warrior hovering in mid-air high over the clearing.

  
  


"... No! That's not possible!" Rioko exclaimed in total shock and disbelief. "Not Sunammi too!"

"I don't believe it..." Tenchi said in a low voice. "...He's defeated all of us..."

"Kieoina, I'm scared!" Mehoshie said as the warrior slowly began to descend to the ground. She grabbed her partner for dear life and screamed in fear, meanwhile choking Kieoina.

"Mehoshie, I'm trying to breathe here!" Kieoina exclaimed, prying her fearful police partner off with a great deal of effort.

The mysterious figure touched down like a feather. For minutes on end he didn't make a move. Neither did anybody else. Then, slowly and calmly he walked up to Rioko. Rioko cringed in blind fear and stepped back as he got closer, after a few steps finding herself backed up against a tree. She looked at the towering giant who stood before her, the shadow of the hood of his cloak hiding his face under it's dark shadow.

The warrior spoke first, everybody nearby watching in helpless fearful anticipation.

"You are defeated, Rioko. This time, learn from the experience."

"What do you want from me?!" She exclaimed, barely able to get her voice to go above a fearful whisper. "Why are you doing this to me?!"

"It is a lesson in humility you need to learn, Rioko. You did not learn it last time, in fact that battle only proved to harden your heart. But this time you need to learn, Rioko. Only if you have a broken and contrite heart can you achieve your ultimate purpose for being. That is the reason we first met, and that is the reason we have battled again today."

"What are you saying?! I don't understand; please, don't hurt me."

"I have no intention of hurting you, Rioko. Only... of teaching you."

"Well, here's a lesson for you, bucko!" She suddenly wasn't fearful anymore, and with a flash of orange-colored energy her sword blinked into being in her hands, it's blade jabbed straight through the warrior's chest and it's tip appearing in-between his shoulder blades. Tenchi gasped is surprise; maybe they stood a chance after all of defeating this madman.

Rioko smirked and looked up into the face of her opponent.

Not a single indication of pain.

"Rioko, put the sword away." He instructed. "Have you learned nothing?"

Rioko's jaw dropped in blatant disbelief, as did everyone else's. The warrior had Rioko's sword penetrated cleanly into his chest and sticking out the other side, and yet he didn't even seem to feel it! After a moment or two, Rioko deactivated the sword.

"Dirty tricks will get you nowhere, Rioko." He stated, the hole through him quickly vanishing as if he was healing himself at an incredible speed. "Please realize that I am not your enemy."

Rioko was speechless, as was everyone else.

  
  


Chapter 4- A New Beginning

  
  


"If you're not Rioko's enemy, who are you?" Tenchi inquired, still stunned.

"I am a voice. I come from obscurity and travel throughout the universe, fulfilling my purpose."

"What purpose, may I ask, is that?" Said an elderly voice from nearby. All eyes turned to see Tenchi's grandfather emerge from the trees nearby, or what was left of the trees nearby. "Never in my whole lifetime have I seen one with such power as your own; your purpose must indeed be great."

"My power is not my own, but given me by another that I may fulfill His purposes." He answered.

"And those purposes would be?" The wise old man inquired, the sun reflecting off of his rectangular glasses.

"First, a bit of history." The white-cloaked figure stated. "It all started at the very beginning...

  
  


A long, long time ago, there was a swordsmaster beyond all swordsmasters. He was, in fact, a child of destiny, and he was given a task that he would go into all the earth, fighting against the forces from the eternal abyss. He was the most powerful warrior to ever exist, and never before him nor ever after him was there ever found another swordsmaster who could be equal. For that matter, never since and never before had ever been a sword with more power, more grace, more beauty, and the swordsmaster kept it with highest respect to it's power. He had made it, and the two were practically one being. This swordsmaster went throughout the earth, gathering to himself twelve chosen warriors who would accompany him on his journeys. Together, the twelve champions and the swordsmaster went throughout the ancient land battling the evil forces and doing incredible miracles. Yet, despite all the good this swordsmaster had done, the rulers of the land despised the swordsmaster and sought a way to kill the hero. In the end, one of the twelve sold out to the evil rulers and delivered the swordsmaster into their hands. The evil rulers mocked, spit upon, accused falsely, and eventually killed the swordsmaster using the most painful method at their disposal: a punishment reserved for only the worst criminals; crucifixion to a cross. The swordsmaster had known long ago that one day this would be how it would end, by a painful, slow death upon a heavy cross, and did not resist at all when the time came. His final words were 'it is finished', and with that the swordsmaster died.

But the story does not end there. Removing everything pure and taking upon himself the judgement for all evil, the swordsmaster was cast deep into the eternal abyss. Because, you see, he still had two opponents with which to face before it truly was 'finished'; there, in a universe of unending darkness and evil powers, the swordsmaster drew to himself once more the sword of light and prepared to face the two foes: Abaddon, the dark swordsmaster, and Death itself in all it's powers. For three days the swordsmaster struggled violently against the dark foes, for three days it seemed he was losing. With purity stripped away, the swordsmaster was weaker than ever, and Abaddon knew it. All seemed lost, for if the swordsmaster could not triumph, the entire universe would belong to Abaddon.

Then, on the dawning of the third straight day of the combat, the sword suddenly glowed with newfound power. With a mighty swipe, the swordsmaster laid Abaddon's chest open, then with another swipe cut off Death's poisonous stinger and utterly destroyed Death's sword. Abaddon had feared just this turnabout and, with death on his heals, the two ran for their lives. The swordsmaster had overcome, vanquishing the powers of evil and Death. A piercing light broke into the eternal abyss, returning the swordsmaster to earth once more. With Abaddon and Death defeated, the swordsmaster assumed a new, powerful body not made of flesh and blood, then returned to the remaining eleven chosen warriors to proclaim to them the victory.

But the swordsmaster could not stay on earth for long. He promised the eleven that one day soon they too would all have the sword, and that one day the swordsmaster would return to earth to vanquish Death, Abaddon, and the Prince of Darkness, once and for all. Turning towards heaven, the swordsmaster rose beyond the physical world and returned to the universe from whence He had come. There, He took His rightful place at the right-hand of the Eternal God, and sent His sword to earth in the form of His own spiritual being, empowering any and all who accepted it to become sons and daughters of the Eternal God and rightful heirs in His kingdom. Even to this day He sits at the right-hand of the Eternal One, interceding on behalf of the whole earth.

  
  


"And that swordsmaster's name was Jesus, the Son of God." The white-cloaked warrior concluded.

There was total silence for a long moment.

"What a beautiful story!" Mehoshie exclaimed in a soft voice. "Did it really happen?"

The warrior nodded.

"Baloney!" Rioko retorted, standing up. "So what does that make you, Superman gone Jehovah's Witness?"

"I am who He made me to be, nothing more, nothing less." The warrior responded. "And I come for the purpose of proclaiming the swordsmaster Jesus's victory."

"And what exactly has all of this to do with me? I mean, trust that religion junk about as far as I can throw it, no further." Rioko returned. "And, believe you me, 'Bible-Man', if I had three gems instead of one I'd show you what a real devil looks like. They don't call me Rioko, the devil-caller for nothing."

"Which brings me to my present point, Rioko." He stated. "While you think you can control the spiritual, you have never actually encountered a true demon."

"What do ya mean? I used to call up the little buggers all the time; if anyone knows demons, it's me."

"But, though you claim to know so much, you have no idea of the creature that visited your dreams and stained your left hand with blood, do you Rioko?"

Rioko was cut to the quick by the statement.

"How do you know about that?!!" She exclaimed.

"His name is Necros, one of the Council's finest warriors. He has slain, in his time, six-hundred mighty warrior angels and is charged with carrying out the Council's orders to the letter. His main weapons are the interchangeable wrist blades with which he carries out his tasks, but he has many other weapons at his disposal as well. Rioko, Necros is a *true* demon."

Rioko gulped.

"You're kidding, right?" She said hopefully. He shook his head.

"Their simplest weapons are endowed with more power to destroy than the mightiest of Gerrian warriors, and their armies number like dark clouds of the endless Abyss. A simple dagger in the hand of one of *these* demons surpasses Rioko and Rio-oki put together, a single sword wielded by just one of them has power to put Sunammi, the white falcon, to shame. Their most simplistic weapons can outdo your most extravagant powers. Believe me, you have no idea what you're dealing with. The 'demons' you've come across and faced so far are mere shadows of the true ones, in fact, they were nothing more than demonic scouts toying with you and seeking out the powers each of you have. Now that their 'examination' of each of you is complete, they will begin their true attack. And, I fear, nothing you throw at them is likely to win this fight."

"If you thought that one time a dark spirit turned on you was bad," He warned, turning to Rioko. "Imagine all the armies of hell coming after you. And, unlike me, they will show no mercy. They come only to steal, kill, and destroy, Rioko. You've been playing with demonic fire for far too long, and I'm here to warn you that the burn is lethal. That, Rioko, is lesson number four."

Rioko and the others were stunned beyond words. Just imagining an army of invincible demonic warriors just as powerful as the white-cloaked warrior was too much to comprehend.

At that point, Rioko simply broke down.

The warrior watched, unmoving. Suddenly, behind the shadow of his hood, his features lightened. It was almost like he'd gone from being Rioko's judge to being a loving father figure. He put his hand gently on Rioko's shoulder and knelt down to look into her eyes.

"I know this is all very hard for you, Rioko. You never imagined you could feel so powerless or so afraid, and just the thought of God makes you hide yourself in shame. I know what that's like, Rioko. No life is without times of extreme testing and trials. But the thing you find hardest to believe, and I can understand why, is that a God of justice would care so much about what you see as a wretched space pirate that He would willingly give His life up so that you could have a second chance."

She looked up at him momentarily, tears staining her face, then looked down again and nodded in-between sobs.

"... You don't know what it's like,... you can't understand my past..." She managed to choke out through her sobs and tears. "... the people I've killed... the lives I've ruined... how could that God ever forgive me?? . . . I'm... I'm a MURDERER!!!" She screamed as she broke down completely.

The figure was still for a moment, then responded.

"And so was the thief of the cross next to Jesus." He said, a caring tone in his voice. "Is anything impossible for God, Rioko? He died for you; He would have died for you alone if it came down to it. While I may never know what you've done, He does, and He knew about all of it even as He was going to be crucified. Rioko, you are His daughter, made in His likeness. The only thing impossible within God is for Him to hate His sons and daughters; Rioko, God loves you and wants you to be set free from your past. All you have to do is ask Him..."

With that, the figure faded away, disappearing right where he stood and leaving Rioko there, her knees to the ground and her face buried in her hands, tears streaming out through her fingers and falling to the ground. Washsu immediately rushed over and took Rioko in her arms as Rioko continued to cry her eyes out.

"Shhh... it's ok, Rioko." She said in a soft voice like a mother would. "It's ok, I'm here for you..."

"...No, it's not ok." Rioko said suddenly, still crying as she spoke. "It'll never be ok..."

  
  


On a nearby hill, Necros watched the whole scene in silent, keen observation. His predatory eyes observed every detail of what was going on as Washsu tried effectlessly to comfort Rioko, not failing to notice that, despite the warrior's best attempts, she had not accepted the salvation. Not yet, at least. For the time being, she was still controllable. But, if he and his forces weren't careful, if they pushed her too far at any given moment, they could permanently lose Rioko to the Light.

"You have failed, warrior." Necros said, turning to see the warrior appear a good few feet behind him. "Her soul still belongs to us, as does her destiny."

"I have not failed, just as the Sword has not failed. It is written that the Sword will never be wielded in righteousness without effecting God's purposes. I have simply,... planted the seed of salvation."

"Well, I'll make certain that seed never has a chance to take root, warrior." Necros challenged. "You will not take her from us without a fight."

"True, you will fight. But you shall not win."

"We shall see, warrior, we shall see."

"Yes, we shall." And with that, he faded once more out of existence.

  
  


Chapter 5- Help of the Way

  
  


Meanwhile, out in space,...

  
  


"Approaching the Alpha Sector." Stated a young boy, glancing over information running across a computer monitor. His hair was black like a flock of ravens and his eyes were a strange neon-green color. He seemed to be approximately 18, and he was wearing a black jumpsuit, white belt to which was attached a small collection of relatively small gadgets and devices. He had a sword slung over his back and a small laser gun in a holster on his belt. He keyed in commands as a female figure stepped up behind him.

"You think Necros went to earth?" She inquired over his shoulder. She looked to be about his age and had neon-blue hair that fell like a curtain around her ears, stopping at the base of her neck. She wore a similar jumpsuit to her companion, only hers was more of a dark green than black and she didn't have a sword over her back. Her eyes, one of her most surprising features, were a strange off-white within their pupil.

"It would make sense." Her companion replied. "After all, that's where it all started."

"No doubt." He replied. "But we should check around the planets owned by Gerri first, then head to earth." He then turned and seemed to speak to the computers themselves. "Dakii, activate cloaking fields and take us out of JumpStar drive. Set all systems to stealth mode."

The ship meowed in response, and slowly the internal lights faded from regular white to a semi-dark blue.

"Stealth mode completed." The boy said, observing his instruments.

  
  


The ship was similar in many ways to Rio-oki, with the differences being the neon-green energy of the engines and the titanium-blue color of the outer hull armor. Suddenly, Dakii's image wavered as if surrounded by heat waves, then faded quickly out of visibility as it's cloaking fields surrounded it.

But despite it's invisibility and stealth mode, he was able to locate them.

  
  


"So," The girl inquired, looking over his shoulder. "How long until we can start searching?"

"Well, we'll be in Gerri's territory in about an hour or so. Meantime, you in the mood for some soup?"

"Only if it's not mushroom soup again. We've had nothing but mushroom soup for the past two weeks, and it's driving me nuts!"

"OK, OK, no mushroom soup." He said, trying to calm her down. "I'll see if I can't find something else somewhere in the supply chamber."

"Honestly, I don't know why you bought nothing but mushroom soup at the last space station." She exclaimed as the two walked towards the turbolift.

"I told you already: there was this sale on the stuff and I guess I forgot we were a little short on cash. Isn't mushroom soup better than nothing at all?"

"That's debatable." She retorted.

"Hold up a second, you two." Said a voice from the far side of the bridge. Both vigilantes turned immediately at the sound of the voice to see the white-cloaked warrior standing on the other side of the blue-lit room.

"Sir!" The girl exclaimed, saluting. "It's good to see you again."

"There's no need for formalities, Cetia." He responded, shortening the distance between himself and the two teens. "I have both information and a mission for you two. Necros is on earth, for starters."

Dakii meowed in acknowlagement, changing their course without having to be told.

"Thanks, Dakii." The boy stated, then looked back at the warrior. "A mission? Where to?"

"Earth, of course." He stated calmly. "It has to do with the space pirate Rioko."

"Dakii," Cetia instructed. "Bring up holo-datafile, subject: Rioko."

Dakii meowed, and a holographic screen popped out of cyberspace to Cetia's left. She and her companion studied it for a moment as information on Rioko's criminal record scrolled downwards continuously.

"You want us to capture her and hand her over to Gerri's courts?" The boy inquired.

The warrior shook his head.

"She's a good deal more powerful than you two in the physical sense, so you can assume that it's not a good idea to make her your enemy. In fact, your mission is one of salvation, Zeran."

Zeran and Cetia gave each other a look of silent communication. Necros and salvation don't mix, and they both knew it. One way or the other, they were gonna have a fight on their hands soon enough once they started this mission.

"It looks like we're gonna be fighting Necros, in that case." Zeran concluded. The warrior nodded.

"Just let him try!" Cetia exclaimed, activating a neon-green energy sword much like Rioko's. She swung it around like a trained ninja, then deactivated it again. "We'll kick his lousy demonic butt all across the solar system."

"Use caution, Cetia." He warned. "As you well know, Necros is not to be underestimated."

"Right." Zeran nodded. "Mission accepted."

  
  


(To be continued...)

  
  


OK, the characters I own so far...

The white-cloaked warrior

Cetia, Christian vigilante

Zeran, Christian vigilante

  
  


((OK, when I wrote this, I originally didn't think I was going to be able to continue it as a series. After all, not only do I write half a dozen fanfic sagas at once, but I'm also working on amateur computer game making at the same time. So, if I get enough people who Read and Reply to this first part, I might finish writing part two and maybe even work on part 3. That is, if there's an audience. If not, then this fic saga is destined forever to stay a one-parter with a cliffhangar.))


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